I’m a Mullen guy, and that’s becoming harder and harder to reconcile by the day.
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Or why he spent all of last season trying to establish the option run game?
Why he had EJ in the #2 slot? Warming up several times vs UK? Only going with Trash bc it was late in the game and being two scores down he would HAVE TO PASS.
Let"s face it, this is a guy who couldnt figure out how to get Cam Newton on the field, who only started Dak Prescott bc of injury, and had Franks and EJ in front of Trash.
I give him a break on Trash. The likelihood of a kid who hadnt started since middle school NOT falling apart completely at the first snap are 1 in millions. 800 other Div 1, Div 1AA, Div 2 and Div 3 coaches agreed with him.
Thankfully, with Trash today, he only ran that outside option and the unblocked backside defensive end wasn't fast enough to catch the running backs in the backfield. With EJ he ran his normal playbook.
he has finally adapted... but you can tell with him forcing reps for EJ what he wants to run his Notre Dame offense still.
When I heard Brian Johnson was OC, my first thought was it was just a figurehead thing. Something to justify some raise Dan wanted to give. Not to much now. There were certainly much more mature passing concepts than anything Mullinz has ever ran.
Yet Im still afraid to fall for it again. I believed in 2006 he had adapted to using a passing game, but by 2008 he had devolved back to 2005 form. Im afraid that will happen again, with EJ and perhaps AR on deck. Here"s hoping though.
Im tired of talking about the defense.
I may even watch the game again tomorrow, something I havent done for years and years, probably since mid 2012.